Role of Asprosin as a Biomarker of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract Background The nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which affects 20 to 45 percent of people worldwide, is the liver pandemic of the twenty-first century. As a result of the growing obesity epidemic, NAFLD is now a chronic liver condition that has a global distribution. NAFLD affects between 15 to 40 percent of the general population and 90 percent of obese people. Aim of the Work The aim of our study is to measure serum level of asprosin in patients with Non- alcoholic Fatty Liver disease (NAFLD) to detect its relation to the incidence and severity of non- alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Patients and Methods The current case-control study was conducted at Damietta Gastroenterology & Cardiology Center aiming to evaluate serum asprosin levels in NAFLD patients compared to healthy controls, and to elucidate its relation to disease severity. We included a total of 90 subjects who were divided into two groups; Cases group included 45 patients with NAFLD, and Control group included 45 healthy matched controls. All participants were subjected to history taking, clinical examination (including anthropometric body measurements like BMI, waist and hip circumference), pelviabdominal ultrasound (for assessment of liver and spleen size), and laboratory investigations (including CBC, liver and renal function tests; lipid profile, blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin). Additionally, serum asprosin was measured in both groups. Results The study found that BMI, waist and hip circumference, WH ratio, prevalence of diabetes, liver size, fasting and postprandial glucose, HbA1C, serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, LDL and HDL levels, ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, FIB-4 score, and asprosin levels were significantly higher in the NAFLD group compared to controls. Platelet count, total leucocytic count, serum bilirubin, albumin, and INR were not significantly different between the two groups. Serum asprosin levels showed a sensitivity and specificity of 77.8% and 51.1%, respectively, in identifying patients with NAFLD. Conclusion Based on our study findings, serum asprosin could be used a surrogate marker for the diagnosis of NAFLD with high sensitivity and moderate specificity. However, its level has no significant correlation with the degree of liver fibrosis in such cases.